re: #11 Joe Bacon

Grandma Bacon lived to 107. She had a bypass and pacemaker implanted when she was 103. She was sharp as a tack until she had a stroke at 105. I always believed she lived a blessed life since she lived through parts of three centuries.

There are still days when I miss her so much!

My dad’s mom lived to be 97. She was born and raised in the slums of Montreal, and always told her kids that she was French Canadian, until she hit 95 and confessed that when her parents came from County Cork, Ireland, they had to assume a French name to get decent jobs, and she spent almost all of her life acting the part. I told her, “Granny, that’s the most Irish thing I’ve ever heard of.”

She was quite the character. In fact, I judge the character of characters by her example.